HP Envy 23 All In One

Those who have small space might want to consider getting an all in one PC instead of a television. The nice thing about all in one computers is that they do not take up much space and can provide a great deal of entertainment power in a convenient package.

The HP Envy come with a 23 HD display with the ability for touch. If you have the newest model with Windows 8 touch is a must. We installed everything we needed to get this baby working as our new entertainment center. The computer has a built in DVD drive which served us well for a season Dexter. We also signed into Netflix and Cinema Now. The picture was very sharp and the video played back very smooth. If you are looking to play music the HP Envy comes with Beats Audio. The built in speaker system take full advantage of the Beats technology. The computer also makes a great gaming system. With Intel or AMD prossesors depending on the model you pick it this system can handle almost any task you through at it.

The HP Envy also comes with built in Adobe software to make editing pictures and movies a breeze. I had been putting off editing some videos shot on my smartphone, but using the Envy made it a quick process to upload my videos sort and edit in just a couple hours. There are other all in one's in the same price range, but I think HP did a great job on this all in one and it looks great.

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Roku Canada

Without much fanfare the popular US based media streamer was launched in Canada. At present you can find a Roku box at most Walmarts and online through Amazon.ca with two different models available. If you have not heard of Roku the company makes a little box that connects to your TV to bring online content to the big screen. The box have built in channels such as Netflix and Crackle. You won't find the same channels as in the US due to copyright issues. There are many channels to pick from on the Canadian box, but no Hulu. Is this a worth while purchase? I wold say yes at less then $100 it will bring in a lot of content. If you are looking to reduce you cable bill or cut the cord this is another great solution that will provide hours and hours of TV viewing without a huge cable bill. You can learn more about Roku at www.roku.com for the different types of boxes available.

Glasses Free 3D TV

The sale of 3D TV up until now has not been of great significance.  It could be that consumers are either confuse about the technology or that they hate having to wear the 3D glasses. Well it looks like consumer electronics companies are try to solve that hurdle. It difficult to get consumers to accept a technology that they are not sure is full baked. If I were to buy a new TV 3D would not be the selling point. The ability to connect to the Internet and get content apps would be the deciding factor. At the CES show in Las Vegas Toshiba will be introducing a new television with technology that will not require the 3D glasses. This might be the turning point for 3D television. The ability to watch 3D content should be simple and consumers should just be able to stumble onto the built in feature.

Here's an excellent summary from CNET's Stephen Shankland on how 3D TV without glasses works.

3D works by showing separate views to the left and right eyes; the brain reconstructs the 3D world from the two images. Toshiba's TV uses numerous tiny lenses to direct two different views in slightly different directions so each eye sees something different. That's easier to do with a single viewer at a fixed distance to the screen, but harder with multiple viewers. Toshiba's 55LZ2 divides the overall viewing area into nine separate regions so people can use the 3D over a broad range of angles.

It's not quite as easy as regular TV, though. Before watching, a button on the remote control launches face-tracking software on the TV to detect viewers' positions to best control the picture.

The price tag for these new television sets is not within most consumer range. With time and more development of the technology we should see reasonable priced televisions in the market place in the next few years.

Xbox 360 Update

If you haven't already downloaded the Xbox 360 update it is now ready. This update brings a clean new interface that fits in with the new look of Windows phone 7 or the Zune HD interface. It looks slick and very easy to get around. The new update will also bring an app market place and video service. As a cord cutter some of the video app updates will bring the Xbox to a new level. With the Canadian update I can see myself using the Xbox a little bit more to find online programing. The Canadian update will get Rogers On Demand and Leaf TV for Toronto Maple Leaf fans live games can be purchased on demand.

With voice command via the Kinect you can ask Xbox to bring up shows to watch and control the action. The app market will bring a new level of functionality and there is also a new social link. As the services were not up and running when I did my update I was not able to test Rogers On Demand I will have a review as soon as that service goes live. In the meantime go get your update.

Boxee Box Live TV With USB Tuner Stick

The Boxee Box is getting an update that with the purchase of tuner card will bring live television to the Boxee. The additional $49.99 usb tuner will bring your local stations through the Boxee and also add a social element that you can share which live show you are watching. Why would you want to watch live TV on the Boxee Box? The live shows add programing that other wise might not be online like local news. It an exciting addition that makes the Boxee even better than it already is. If you like sports than you will never miss a live sporting event from your local stations. The Boxee Box will get the live television signal from your local station by connecting to an HD antenna. The tuner will feed the signal to the Boxee through the usb tuner. Once you have scanned for the local stations you now can flip between web content your local network or live TV. As the cord cutting movement grows we will find more device manufactures trying to incorporate different content source to compete with cable. The Boxee Box usb tuner is available now for pre-order and will ship in January 2012 in time for the season of many network shows.

Red Box Price Increase

Red Box users will be paying an extra $0.20 for a DVD rental. The slight increase in price is not going to break the bank and considering the vast choice of titles. If you are an avid Red Box users it might seem unfair to raise the price, but considering how much a pay per view movie cost or other rental stores it still a great value. If you want to watch the newest titles Red Box does provide a large selection considering it's all stored in a vending machine.

Steve Jobs Thank You For Apple TV

The passing of Steve Jobs this week made me appreciate my Apple TV 2 even more. The device was Steve's little project, but it has turned out to be a great device. With Netflix and podcasts each month the Apple TV 2 provides countless hours of entertainment in my household. We might never know what other ideas Steve might have had for this device, but I am sure it was going to get some amazing updates once content rights had been worked out. The Apple TV 2 might not get the same respect as other Apple products, but it is a worthy product and a very easy to use device. In minutes a user can connect the device to the Internet and be watching a variety of programing easily with the simply remote include with the device.As an Apple TV user I hope the product will become even better and that whatever vision Steve had for the product will continue even without his presence at Apple.

Thank you Steve for all the magical products and for making products that people truly love.